Nitrogenous food product.



No. 897,392. PATENTED SEPT. 1, 1908.

H K. OKAZAKI.

NITROGENOUS FOOD PRODUCT.

APPLICATION FILED MAR. 13 1907.

SPEOIMENS.

witmwaaa UNITED STATES PATENT oEEioE.

KEIIOHIRO OKAZAKI, OF TOKYO, JAPAN, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO HANUEMON YENJO, OF TOKYO, JAPAN.

NITROGENOUS FOOD PRODUCT.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Sept. 1, 1908.

T 0 all whom it may concern."

Be it known that I, KErroHrRo OKAZAKI, a subject of the Emperor of Japan, and a resi dent of Tokyo, Japan, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Nitrogenous Food Products, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an improved process of manufacturing nitrogenous food compounds from such vegetable refuse matter as the bran or hulls of grains, or pressed cakes, remaining after the removal of the liquid constituents, as oils, from seeds, and the like, by the action of a certain fungus or mold hereinafter designated as Okazaki fungus which appears on steamed rice bran which has been left for a considerable length of time in the'air. The mold which thus forms on the bran or hulls of rice is removed, with as little foreign matter as possible, and is transplanted on the medium to be trans formed thereby, as the bran of cereals or desiccated pressed cake and either pulverized pumice-stone or sponge. By the action of the Okazaki fungus, a large quantity of insolublenitrogenous com ounds in the material treated is converte nous nutrient compositions. I

In the accompanyingdrawing forminga part of this specification Figure 1 is spective of a box containing sawdust and bran used in the cultivation of the Okazaki fungus. Fi 2 is aperspectiveview of the Okazaki ungus and. conidia thereof and Fig. 3 is a perspectiveview of the diascribed.

In the cultivation of the Okazaki fungus fine soft wood shavings or sawdust is mixed with rice bran and the mixture 1 is placed in a box 2 of the character shown in ig. 1 of the drawing and steamed until the starch contained in it is reduced to a gelatinous state. The bran mixture is then allowed to cool until the temperature falls to into soluble andassimilable compounds, producing nitrogea per-,

about 30 0. when it is covered with fresh rice straw or mats 3, woven therefrom, as illustrated, and placed in a warm chamber where a temperature of from 20 to 35 C. is maintained. When the mold or fungus has made a suitable growth which occurs in about 24 hours, the bran is removed to a shallow box in which the material has a depth of about one inch, and is afterwards divided into a number of boxes for facility in handling, the bran having a depth of about one inch in said boxes. In two or three days the mold or fungus will be perfectly developed. Examined under the microscope the mass is found to contain, besides Okazaki fungus, Aspergtllus oryza, mon'ilt'a, mucor, diastarin fungus and yeasts. The Okazaki fungus is then separated from other kind of fungi by repeatedly cultivating it on steamed bran or it may be produced free from other fungi by the ordinary process of preparing pure culture. I

Okazaki fungus is ahitherto unknown species and belongs to the genus As ergillus, being found in rice bran. This ungus is illustrated in Fig. 2 of the accom anying' drawing in which 4 shows the coni iophore the end being covered with conidia. 5

shows the conidiophore with the end covered with radially ramified sterigmata on which the conidia are formed. 6' shows two young conidio hores, the more mature one of the two ex ibiting granulation on its walls. 7

shows the-conidia magnified somewhat more highly than the conidiophores and 8 illustrates the germinationof the conidia, the latterfbeing likewise more highly magnified than the 'conidio hores illustrated. The

aerial mycelium o the Okazaki fungus has septa and produces short conidiophores the ends of which are swollen into a round or barshaped head and upon the whole surface or only on the upper side of that head ramified cylindrical or flask-shaped sterigmata are formed. The end of each sterigma is constricted into conidia, presenting bead-like appearance. The conidia in young culture are pure white, but they assume faint yellowish color when it becomes old. Though allied to Aspergillus org 22c, Okazaki fungus can therefore be easily distinguished from it. In

whiteness Okazaki fungus resembles Asname of di estin for this power 1 enzyme enzyme O11 perature on gelatin, agar-agar or steamed rice, the most favorable temperature for its growth being about 28 or 30 C.

The Okazaki fungus somewhat closely resembles the diastarin fungus which likewise occurs on rice straw and from which the former must be separated. For urposesof comparison and to avoidv confusion in separating the Okazaki fungus from the diastarin fungus, I have illustrated the latter in Fig. 3 as it appears under a microscope. In this figure, 9 is the conidiophore, the end being covered with conidia. 10 shows the conidiophore with the end covered with radiating sterigmata on which the ,conidia are formed. 11 is a young conidiophore. 12 shows the conidia magnified somewhat more highly than the conidiophores and 13 illustrates the ermination of the conidia, the latter being ikewise. more highly. magnified than the conidiophore. Althoughboth the diastarin fungus and the Okazaki fungus belong to the genus Aspergillus, they are easily distinguishable rom each other.- The important d1stinctive differences between these two species may be thus tabulated Okazaki fungus. Diastarin fungus.

1. Color of conidia' Snow white Greenish-yellow. 2. Size of conidia... 2.5-5.4 Micron 8-9 Micron. 3. Conidiophore. Short and with wall Long and with wall smooth and granfinely granulated. ulated. 4. Sterigmata Ramified Non-ramified. 5. Power of dissolv- Weak Strong.. ing starch. V

6. Power of dissolv- Strong Weak.

ing proteid substances. 'I. l nlavor of theeul- Agreeable No peculiar flavor.

ure.

-During its growth the Okazaki fungus secretes one or more enzymes exhibiting the properties of very powerful cytase, diastase, peptase, lipase etc. It is believed that one y is produced. This readily dissolves starch, cellulose and proteid matters and sa onifies fat, far more readily than Aspergzllus org 2w. I have pro 'osed the to distinguis it from others already known. The action of the peptase in dlgestin is six or seven days when placed in a warm room, showin how owerful is its power of resistance to t e aci and alkaline media and to neutral salt. The enzyme obtained from action of the kazaki especially powerful, and when the mold-is.

the infusion readily dissolves elastin, mucin, casein, fibrin, egg-albumen, nuclein, etc., and decomposes them.

' In the preparation of the fungus-malt koji thereis added to the culture medium comprising the hulls orbran of grain, or l Okazaki fungus, as such a medium accelerates the formation of the koji. As the fungus grows itsecretesan enzyme which is a (powerful digestive agent, which acts on the raw materials and decomposes the albumen thereof into such soluble nitrogenous compounds as albumose, peptone, ainido acids,

and other amides. At the same time the insoluble phosphates which are combined with the albumen and other matters are made soluble, the starch is converted into sugars, the fat is saponified and the cellulose is also rendered soluble.

It is to be understood that the koji hereinbefore mentioned consists of liquid decomposition roducts roduced by the ngus on the culture medium employed and that it is associated with a residue of unconverted solids.

In the infusion of nitrogenous compounds from the material produced as hereinbefore described, I proceed as follows: To the koji re aration 'repared --as above described a d a diffusl le liquid such as warm water or weak alcohol, say of 20% purity, or

glycerin and the whole is well mixed; their the porous material as sponges or pumice stone contained in the koji preparation is removed and the liquid is left to stand for about eighteen hours with occasional stirring at a temperature of about 40 to 50 0. Satisfactory results ma be obtained by adding equal parts by weig t of the difiusibleliquid tothe .koji preparation, although the proportions may e widel varied. The soluble nitrogenous compounds, soluble phosphates, glucose, soluble saccharine matters, etc., contained inthe koji are extracted and heldv in solution in the liquid. This mass is then pressed and filtered and the filtrate is desic cated at a 'lowtemperature of say 60 C. under diminished atmospheric pressure, producing a nitrogenous nutrient composition of great dietetic value for use alone, as a readily digested food or for use with other foods, as meats, to facilitate the digestion thereof. The roduct is a yellowish white hydrosco ic powder which dissolves in water, the so tion having a turbid appearance, In use it may be employed alone, dissolved in about ten times its weight of water, or it may be added to other foods as a digestive agent. It is particularly well adapted for addition to foods containing starch, casein and albumen. By its-use in pro ortions of from 2 'per cent. upward gelatin, egumen and casein are converted into soluble form in which they may be readily digested and assimilated.

The following is an example of an advantageous method of use of the product above mentioned: Dissolve gelatin in hot milk using any desired proportions, equal parts by weight being particularly satisfactory and let the solution stand until it cools down to a temperature of 40 G. Then add a small quantity, sa from 2 to 6 per cent. of my product an stir thoroughly. The gelatin and the casein of the milk will soon be so thoroughly liquefied that the solution will not coagulate even when it is thoroughl cooled, and will give no precipitate with nitric acid. This preparation forms a liquid food somewhat similar to a thin soup.

Nitrogenous nutrient compositions at present known, as somatose, meat peptone, etc. all comprise either meat with an addition of a digestive ferment such as pepsin to render them digestible or they are made by evaporating the liquid remaining after the preparation of pepsin. In the production of such compositions costly materials are used and the resulting products are generally found to contain only nitrogenous materials with no digestive enzymes present. At best, only a small quantity of pe sin is obtained .in such compositions. At t e same time the rocess of preparation is very complicate and costly. In the resent invention not only are waste vegetafile matters such as the bran or hulls of grain or pressed cake used as raw materials, but, by the utilization of the peculiar mold or fungus hereinbefore referred to nitrogenous nutrient compositions containing strong enzymes and soluble phosphates are prepared by a simple and inex pensive pr cess.

Okazaki fungus is distinguishable by its quality or property of easily dissolving hosphates, starch, cellulose, proteids, etc.

he industrial application of this property for the preparation of nitrogenous nutrient is believed to be novel and such application constitutes an important factor in the present invention.

Formerly koji has been formed from brans or ressed cakes, but the formation of koji 0 this descri tion could not develop into a profitable in ustry owing to various obstacles in the process, such as the lumping together of the materials into a gelatinous mass owing to the absorbing of alarge quantityof water while being steamed, the unequal difi'usion of vapors in consequence and the partial putrefaction of the materials during the process. In my process porous materials such as s onges or pumice-stone are mixed with the bran or pressed cake used, water is sprinkled on the mixture, and the surface of the mass is coated with bran or pressed cake and then subjected to heat. The water held in the s on e or pumice keeps the bran or presse ca e molstened while being subjected to an elevated temperature and, as the sponge or pumice besides acting as a conductor of heat, enlarges the heated surface of the bran or pressed cake, the starch contained in it is reduced to a gelatinous state erfectly and uniformly. Upon this materia Okazaki fungus is cultivated and the koji is obtained; both being easily and perfectly formed owing to the extended space for the growth of fungus and the roper su ply of moisture and air.

aving ful y described my invention, I claim:

1. A process of roducing a nitrogenous food composition w ich consists in steaming rice hulls until the starch contained therein is reduced to a gelatinous state, cooling to a temperature favorable to fungus growth bringing rice straw into roximity thereto,

'maintaining the hulls at t is temperature for several days, separating the Okazaki fungus from other fungi developed, cultivating the Okazaki fungus upon a medium of nitrogenous vegetable material mixed with orous material and moistened with water, or several days at a tem erature favorable to fungus growth, then adding a readily dif fusible liquid to the mass, separating the liq uid content from said mass and evaporating said liquid to dryness at a temperature belOW 100 C.

2. A process of reducing a nitrogenous food composition w lch consists in steamin rice hulls having porous material mixe therewith until the starch contained therein is reduced to a gelatinous state, cooling the hulls to a tem erature of between about 20 and 35 (1., p anting fungi from rice straw thereon maintaining the. hulls at this temperature for several days, se arating the Okazaki fungus from the ot er fungi developed, cultivating this fungus upon a medium comprising refuse nitrogenous material as pressed cake mixed with porous material and moistened with water, for several days at a temperature between about 20 and 35 (3., then adding a readily diffusible liquid to the mass, se arating the liquid portion of the mass an desiccatin said liquid at a temperature below 100 under diminished atmospheric pressure.

3. In the process of producing a nitrogenous food composition, the herein described stepscomprising cultivating upon a medium of nitrogenous vegetable material mixed with insoluble porous material substantially ing the liquid portion of the mass and desic- 'pure Okazaki fungus, a whitish fungus eating it substantially as described. 10

normally developed in a wild state on rice In testimony whereof I afiix my signature hulls at a temperature of between about 20 in' presence of two witnesses.

to 35 0., malntaining said vegetable mate- KEIIOHIRO OKAZAKI.

rial and fungus at a temperature favorable to Witnesses fungus growth for several days, adding .a R. S. MILLER, readily iifusible liquid to the mass, separat- M. NAMBER. 

